LIFE: Rare photos from the March on Washington

As the nation celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, LIFE.com presents pictures — many of which never ran in LIFE magazine — from the landmark March on Washington in 1963, in tribute to the people who transformed a rally into an era-defining event.

Not originally published in LIFE, but printed elsewhere in the years since. Martin Luther King Jr. addresses the crowd during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, August 28, 1963. (Francis Miller—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)

Not originally published in LIFE, but printed elsewhere in the years since. Martin Luther King Jr. addresses the crowd during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, August 28, 1963. (Francis Miller—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)